Topic 1: Deconstructing Social Innovation
Social Innovation is a magic concept and is often named in the context of addressing wicked problems. However, it is challenging to grasp its meaning as there are different interpretations and there is a need to create a clearer terminological understanding.
For this reason, the Competence Center for Social Innovation is looking for a highly motivated student who would like to explore this topic. We believe the process to be collaborative and are eager to provide advice and support. The research design and execution are therefore not top-down but require a lot of initiative and intrinsic motivation from the student.
The objective of this work is to provide a clarification of the terminology of social innovation by bringing together different strands of literature from academia, but also from the practice-based field (Social Innovation, Public Innovation, Responsible Innovation, Sustainable Innovation, Regenerative Innovation etc.).
The outcome of this work could be a social innovation taxonomy, framework, or mapping. In addition, the terminology could be distinguished from related concepts such as social entrepreneurship.
Potential research design (to be developed):
- Extensive literature review of academic literature
- Review of policy briefs & similar documents (UN, OECD etc.)
- Interviews with stakeholders of the ecosystem
Topic 2: Capacity Building for Grand Challenges
It doesn't matter whether we are referring to Wicked Problems, Grand Challenges, or the UN Sustainable Development Goals - the consensus is that we cannot solve any of these challenges from within silos. The private sector plays a critical role in this - which is why educational programs on transformational theory, sustainable development, or systemic change need to be offered at the executive education level.
The objective of this master thesis would be the collection and analysis of empirical data from executive education programs. We want to find out how various teaching methodologies (e.g. design thinking, action learning, experiential learning) can support our goal to prepare executives for addressing Grand Challenges with their organization.
The Competence Center for Social Innovation is looking for students who are interested in capacity building for the Grand Challenges and want to do empirical research. Various questions are at the disposal as well as our in-house programs as potential cases. We believe the process to be collaborative and are eager to provide advice and support. The research design and execution are therefore not top-down but require a lot of initiative and intrinsic motivation from the students.
What we offer:
- Highly relevant research topics on cutting-edge issues
- Supervision and exchange with a highly motivated team on the topic before, during and after the master's thesis
What we expect:
- Advanced Master's degree at the University of St.Gallen (all fields of study)
- Result-oriented and structured way of working with high motivation, initiative and diligence
- Enthusiasm for topics related to social innovation and sustainable development
- Very good written and spoken English
Are you interested in one of the topics?
Then we look forward to hearing from you. Please send your application (short letter of motivation, CV) as well as any questions you may have regarding the advertised work to:
dino.darmonski@unisg.ch